A Destiny All Her Own
by Baranlothiel
Summary: Riley of Naxen is on her way to be presented at Court. But the life of a baroness doesn't appeal to her. Want to know what happens? Please r/r!
1. Default Chapter

A Destiny All Her Own

**A Destiny All Her Own**

A/N: All the characters except Riley are Tamora Pierce's so don't sue me. Don't steal the plot either!

Riley pulled her slinky blonde heir back from her face.Her father, Sir Gareth of Naxen, always said she looked cuter with her hair up. Well I'm not exactly going for the cute look but oh well, thought Riley.With blonde hair, innocent-looking brown eyes, and a trim body that would rival Queen Thayet's, Riley wasn't exactly unpopular with the males. 

That should come in handy, because Riley was traveling in a carriage from the City of the Gods, where she attended the convent until her recent fifteenth birthday, to Corus.After she arrived at the palace she would be presented at Court the next evening and attend a ball later that night, welcoming her and other maidens looking for a husband.More specifically, the maidens' parents looking for a husband. Dad wouldn't let me marry just anybody would he? And he's cousins with King Jon so that pretty much rules out any losers, Riley thought.But what if he's only nice to Dad and Jon?He might be awful to me.I've heard stories of men who come back from the taverns only to beat their wives and get more money, probably for other women.But what if he's old? What if-

But Riley's thoughts were interrupted by the carriage's screeching halt.She smoothed her skirts and checked her hair before the driver came barging in. 

"Come on, miss," he wheezed."Group of spidrens….. 20 at least." 

It was clear that the carriage wasn't going anywhere, thanks to the rain that recently began to pour.Wonderful, Riley thought. First I have to get a husband, then one of my bags gets ripped. Now I'm about to run from a pack of killer Immortals in a skirt while it's raining. Can life get any worse?

As if on cue, a wolf snarled it's teeth not more than eight feet from Riley. "Excuse me," she said, frantically looking for the carriage driver.But Riley was alone.On the road.With a wolf and approaching spidren pack.

Goddess, this just sucks, mused Riley.Why can't I just have Wild Magic like Daine?At least then the wolf wouldn't be looking at me like I'm a piece of meat. 

Just as the wolf inched closer, an arrow whistled through the air and connected solidly with the wolve's neck.Seconds later it fell on the ground, dead.Okay, there's one problem solved, Riley thought.Wait, if the driver is gone, he couldn't have shot the wolf.Then who did?Mithros, this is worse than a wolf.Bandits, most likely.

She must have muttered the last two sentences aloud, because a voice said behind her "Bandit? I'm hardly a bandit?"Riley started to turn around, then everything went black and she collapsed to the ground. 

A/N: Okay people, this is my first fic so don't be too mean when reviewing. And please review! If I get 10 reviews, I'll post the next chapter. 


	2. Chapter 2

A Destiny All Her Own  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Disclaimer: All characters besides Riley and Paul are Tamora Pierce's, you know the drill.  
  
  
Hours later, Riley's eyes painstakingly opened and adjusted to the low light of her surroundings. She tried to get up from her bedroll, but stopped when she noticed the gown she was wearing before was gone, replaced by a tunic and breeches. Men's clothing, Riley thought. Her mother had always told her that "no self-respecting woman would ever don the clothes of a man." Needless to say, Riley's mother wasn't exactly thrilled that there was a lady knight alive in Tortall, let alone being the King's Champion and close friend of her husband.   
Riley herself wasn't opposed to the idea of having women being knights, though she didn't want to follow in Alanna's footsteps. Her good friend at the convent Brianna always wanted to roam around Tortall saving towns from bandits and the like. But Riley knew Brianna's dream was just that, a dream. It would never come true because Brianna was a female.   
"The world makes absolutely no sense!" Riley said. Her voice echoed, so she guessed she was in a cave. Remembering the recent events, she looked frantically around, searching for any other sign of life. And more importantly, her luggage. My poor clothes, thought Riley. When I get to Corus, well if I get to Corus, I don't want to arrive looking like some beggar.  
"I see you're awake," said a deep voice to Riley's left. Her head jerked to see the owner of the voice, but she could only make out a silhouette in the cave's gloomy blackness.  
"Who-who are you? And where am I?" Riley frantically questioned. Whatever she did, she must keep her identity secret. This captor of her's didn't need to know whe was a noble, let alone one with strong connections to the Crown.  
"All will be revealed in the morning. Now go back to sleep before you wake up my pet dragon." He must have sensed a look of petrifaction on Riley's face because he assured her he was kidding and he had never seen a dragon in all his 17 years.   
As Riley drifted into sleep, she wondered if this mysterious stranger's face was as handsome as his voice. Ironically, the stranger's thoughts were the same as Riley's.  
As the first rays of sunshine peeked into the cave, Riley awoke with a start. She had the most frightening dream the night before. Her carriage had stopped in the rain and she had been kidnapped by a stranger on a horse. But as Riley examined her surroundings, she realized the dream was all too real. The tall figure facing the cave's opening was real, too.  
Summoning her remaining energy, Riley crawled out of the bedroll and slowly rose to her feet. The fall she took the day before must have been more serious than she thought, because upon scrunching up the sleeves of her shirt she noticed her arm was sporting a huge purple bruise.   
"So, Sleeping Beauty has finally awoken."  
Riley spun around, searching for the voice, but soon wobbled and noticed the ground was coming closer at an increasing speed. Suddenly two strong arms circled her waist and helped her to the ground in a less painful way than what would have happened had he not been there.  
"Thanks," mumbled Riley. She looked up and found herself mesmerized by a pair of forest green eyes with a hint of gold in them. She tried to talk, but all that escaped from her lips was a very embarrassing croak. Riley blushed, then cleared her throat.   
"Hi," she said. Wow, thought Riley. I'm really amazing him with my intellect huh?  
"Hi," was the reply. Obviously this guy was not a talker.  
"My name's Riley."  
"Hi Riley.''  
Well, this is going to be harder that I expected, Riley thought.  
"And your name would be...?"  
"Oh." Now it was the stranger's turn to blush. "My name's Paul."  
"Hi Paul. And, uh, thanks for, you know, back there-"  
"No problem," Paul interrupted.  
Relieved she didn't actually have to apologize, Riley now felt more at ease.  
"So, what's a girl like you doing traveling all alone?" Paul's voice reminded Riley of her father's, deep and warm. His words were caring and he spoke with an educated tone.   
"A girl like me? And what, pray tell, kind of girl am I?" This amused Riley, because she had known Paul for five minutes and he already knew what "kind of girl" she was.  
"One obviously of noble birth," came Paul's cool reply.  
"Oh, well, I could say the same to you." Riley was not going to let this guy off the hook just yet.  
"Really," Paul questioned. "I'm not the finest example of a noble girl then, am I?"  
Riley blushed and muttered something about her not meaning the girl part, just traveling alone. "Are you, a noble I mean?"  
"Yeah," came the reply, a bit forced.  
"Well, why aren't you training to be a knight? Are you even from Tortall?"  
"Yeah, in fact our fief's only about a day's ride from here."   
Okay, Riley thought, so he's from Northern Tortall. Maybe he knows that girl squire Kally had told me about. Now what was her name, Kelly? Cammy?  
"Hey, do you know who the girl squire is? At the palace, I mean."  
"No, I haven't been to Corus in years," Paul almost sounded sad, like he had left something behind there.   
Weird, Riley had never heard of any male who hadn't trained to be a knight. Well, except for those training to be mages. If this guy had magic, she had to be careful around him. She knew simple spells, but nothing compared to what this guy might know. She would have to keep her eye on him. Not that it would be a problem.  
  
  
A/N: Sorry, I know the ending is bad so I'll give a little spoiler. Next chapter Riley and Paul will finally leave the cave and set out for who-knows-where.  



	3. Chapter 3 (finally!)

A Destiny All Her Own  
  
Chapter 3  
  
Disclaimer: All besides Riley, Paul, and Silhouette are Tamora Pierce's  
  
  
  
Later that afternoon, after a lunch of apples and cold turkey supplied by Paul's horse Silhouette, the pair decided Riley was strong enough for them to leave the cave. Packing up went quickly, seeing as Paul was the only one with any belongings to actually pick up. Riley had asked Paul what happened to the gown she was wearing when he found her, but he said it was in such bad conditions because of her "rolling in the mud" that it could never be clean again.  
"Are we going anywhere in particular?" Riley queried. "Because if we aren't, can we go back to where my carriage is?"  
"Well I was hoping you would ask that because frankly, I have no idea as to where to go next," was Paul's reply.  
Great, just great. Stuck on a road with a guy who could be anything from a mage to a rapist, and he doesn't know where to go. Look at the bright side, Riley reminded herself. He's nice, he's cute and you can get to know him on this trip.  
At last it was time to depart. The two left no sign in the cave of anyone being there recently, in case bandits came around and decided to have a little fun. Paul, always the gentleman, let Riley ride Silhouette, which might not have been a good idea. Silhouette obviously didn't like the idea of anyone but Paul riding her, and she made that very clear to her two human companions. After a half hour of such antics as taking frequent snack stops, going slow when commanded to go faster, going fast when commanded to slow down, and once almost getting bucked out of the saddle, Riley had had enough. She would not let herself be harassed by a horse. She wanted off, and now.  
But Paul refused. She was a lady, he wouldn't have her walking the whole way to her carriage. So they came up with a compromise: to ride together. It was the closest thing to happiness Riley had felt in weeks.  
It was a comforting feeling, Paul's arms around her waist. They protected her from falling, yet they were loose enough to give her room to move. One thing is for sure, it was much better than being stuck in the palace waiting for her freedom to be given away. Sure, she missed her parents and friends, but the image of her standing at the altar next to a 40-year old man was too overpowering.  
After a half hour of riding, Paul and Riley reached the spot where the carriage stood. Riley hopped off the horse and jogged to the carriage. She circled it, searching for any of her bags. Paul walked over, a questioning look on his face. Riley shrugged and opened the carriage's side door.  
Before she knew what was happening, a huge sticky web engulfed her. Spidrens, Riley thought, and started screaming at the top of her lungs. Paul rushed over, not like there was anything he could do. He stood in front of the carriage for a few moments, as if contemplating what he should do while his companion was trying not to be eaten alive, then suddenly brightened. Paul's eyes grew wide and he started rubbing his hands together. Riley wondered when he was going to put this plan of his into action, because she was kind of in a bind.  
Although they had only been together for a short time, Riley had never seen Paul do any magic. Well, that really wasn't saying much because the Gifted Riley hadn't used her magic on this little trip either.   
Riley finally looked up into the menacing spidren's face, expecting its cruel eyes to be her last glimpse of life, but instead she saw an arrow lodged in its left eye. The web encircling her was no longer binding, but simply sticking to her. She peeled them off her and stepped into the sunlight, her luggage temporarily forgotten.  
That was odd, Riley remembered seeing Paul's bow in the bag on Silhouette. He couldn't have gotten to the horse, grabbed the bow, and gotten back in time to save Riley.  
"Where'd the bow come from?" Riley asked.  
"The horse," was the cold reply.  
"You couldn't have gone all the way to the horse and back and still killed the spidren."  
"Now you're telling me what I can and cannot do? And for your information, Silhouette came over here."  
"Don't you think I could have heard a horse galloping ten feet from me? I may be a girl Paul, but I'm not stupid. I can see right through your lie."  
"Listen," said Paul, shaking with rage, "You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. Don't come and lecture me on lying. You don't know what I've been through, what I've seen."   
He turned around and started walking to the horse. Sensing he was alone, Paul turned around. "Well, what are you waiting for? Get your bags and let's leave."  
"And where exactly are we leaving for?"  
"Don't know yet. Do you want to check out Corus? I hear it's the place to be for all the single girls."  
"Not funny," Riley called as she went to go get her bags. As she was with a guy, she had to refrain from hugging the suitcases. Not that it would have mattered, since that's all she could do with them. Surely clothes couldn't weigh this much. She let out a groan and lurched forward, off balance.   
"I suppose you need help with this too," Paul had obviously noticed her hopeless situation. Knowing she needed help yet too proud to ask for it, Riley's stubbornness got the best of her. She gathered her strength and straightened, walking purposefully to Silhouette.  
"No thank you, I'm not completely dependent," was the reply that coolly matched her actions.  
After the bags were on the horse, Riley and Paul stared at each other.  
"Why aren't you getting on?" asked Paul.  
"Just look at the poor thing. It already has two of my bags. The key word there is my. Add any more weight to the horse and I wouldn't be surprised if it keeled over."  
"Very well, walk if you like," All gentlemanly courtesy must have left Paul, because he leaped up on the horse with cat-like grace. "I'm sure she won't mind the added weight," was the cheeky reply. As if it had heard the remark, the horse snorted and tossed its head.  
Yeah, thought Riley as she walked behind the horse, this is going to be one long journey, wherever we're going.  
  
  
A/N: It's finally here!! Sorry everyone for abandoning you for so long. This chapter is dedicate to Leila, because without her bugging me, you wouldn't be reading this right now. 


End file.
